Reckless driving is now 'more common' on Mayo's roads

Driver behaviour is the biggest safety issue on Mayo’s roads, members of the county council’s Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) on Roads have said.

During a road safety update at the committee’s July meeting, members expressed concern about what they described as a worsening culture of dangerous driving, citing speeding, unsafe overtaking and reckless behaviour behind the wheel.

Cllr Patsy O’Brien raised the issue while praising the council’s annual AXA Road Safety Show for Transition Year students. He said the event delivered a hard-hitting message about the devastating consequences of drink driving. However, he said dangerous driving had become increasingly common on Mayo’s roads.

“I have seen a deterioration in road behaviour over the last few years. I think it is deplorable what’s going on on the roads. The overtaking of cars is [difficult] to watch,” he said.

Cllr Michael Burke said driver behaviour is the biggest problem on Mayo’s roads and that reckless drivers are contributing to the high number of road deaths across the country.

“For the sake of two minutes, you often see a guy flying by you, over double white lines, and he is still only two cars ahead of you when you get to a junction,” he said. “The Gardai, the County Council, and our Road Safety Officer can only do so much. It's down to the person at the wheel, they have a huge responsibility.” 

Cllr Burke, along with Cllr Damien Ryan, praised the council's Roads Office and Road Safety Officer Frances Mitchell for their work on continuous improvements to the road network, signage and road infrastructure across the county.

However, Cllr Ryan noted that it was impossible for these works to have a positive effect on driver behaviour or to prevent some of the reckless manoeuvres being undertaken by drivers. He told the meeting about a past legislative proposal that sought to permit dashcam footage to be used in court cases while providing protections for those supplying the footage, ensuring they would not have to give evidence in court and allowing the footage to “speak for itself”.

“That was being considered by the Oireachtas. I think it would be a game-changer. People would volunteer [to provide] the footage, but it's the fear of going to give evidence in court that dissuades a lot of them,” he said. “If that legislation was introduced, I think people would be an awful lot more careful and aware that there is more than just Garda surveillance, that surveillance from a private vehicle can be used,” he added.

Roads Policing Inspector David Tiernan, who oversees the Mayo, Roscommon and Longford Garda Division, attended the meeting.

“There are rules of evidence and evidence gathering generally,” he explained, referring to the chain of custody.

He said he had not heard of the legislative proposal being considered and initially thought it might interfere with the general rules of evidence, although a Statutory Instrument could replace those rules. He said he was not certain.

However, he said Cllr Ryan was correct that a person submitting dashcam footage would have to make a statement and could be called to give evidence in court.

“They might never have to go to court, but they will have to make a statement. They hand over footage, and that goes on file, then the DPP or someone like myself will make a decision depending on the severity. Come court day, you generally would need them there, they might not have to give evidence,” he explained.

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.